A Room Away from the Wolves

A Room Away from the Wolves
Nova Ren Suma
Algonquin, 2018 315 pages
Grades 9-Up
Fantasy

Bina runs away from an abusive situation at home to New York City, where she seeks out Catherine House, a place in which her mother has wonderful memories of many years before. For many years it was Bina and Mom against the world. They left Bina's abusive father only for Mom to fall into an equally bad household with a strict man and his mean daughters, who tortured Bina. Once at Catherine House Bina meets the mysterious Monet, who stirs up new feelings and helps her to come to terms with her father and her past. As time moves on, Bina realizes that something is not right about the boarding house. The girls must be home by nightfall and get physically ill if they aren't. Also, there is something weird about the photos on the wall, the gardens surrounding the house, and the closet in Bina's room. Slowly Bina realizes that residents of the house are unable to move out. What power does Catherine House have and what is the backstory of the inhabitants? 

I am a big fan of Suma’s The Walls around Us. Suma is not your run-of-the-mill teen writer. She pens weird and atmospheric pieces that both confuse and expand your brain. This new title is also "off the beaten path", yet may have strayed too far off for my liking. Suma's writing is consistently beautiful and intentional and certainly worth experiencing. A Room away from the Wolves goes back and forth through time in a liquid fashion and offers a creepy mystery. The plot mostly consists of Bina trying to figure things out and one day bleeds into the next. The stream of conscious narration and meandering story was not enough to hold my attention and I had a hard time getting through this book, yet I was interested enough in the creepiness and well-crafted writing to keep going. I was glad that I persevered for the ending was a big payoff. There is a surprise twist that I didn't see coming for a long time and then finally understood, making the time spent slugging through worthwhile. Only ambitious (and really smart) teens will get there. I think a lot went over this reader's head and it would be worth a second read, if I were a patient person, which I am not. I love any book set in New York City, yet wasn't feeling the magic of the city. The real setting was the creepy Catherine House, which could have been placed anywhere, complete with its woeful inhabitants. The truth behind Bina is revealed in a satisfactory manner and a happy (ish) ending is realized. This book offers a true payout for those willing to invest the time, but the average teen would probably not be up to the task.